Fines herbes (French:[fin.z‿ɛʁb]) designates an importantcombination of herbs that forms a mainstay ofFrench cuisine. The canonicalfines herbes of Frenchhaute cuisine comprise finely choppedparsley,chives,tarragon andchervil. These are employed in seasoning delicate dishes, such as chicken, fish, and eggs, that need a relatively short cooking period; they may also be used in abeurre blanc sauce for seasoning such dishes.Fines herbes are also eaten raw in salads.
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In 1903, the renowned chefAuguste Escoffier noted that dishes labeledaux fines herbes were sometimes being made with parsley alone. In hisCulinary Guide, Escoffier insisted that:
It is a mistake to serve, under the nameOmelette aux fines herbes, an omelette in which chopped parsley furnishes the only aromatic note. This error is too widespread for us to hope to overturn it. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that anomelette aux fines herbes must contain: parsley, chives, and a little chervil and tarragon.[1]
Thirty-five years later, under the entry "Fines Herbes", the authoritativeLarousse Gastronomique of 1938 conceded that, generally speaking, anOmelette aux fines herbes was still most frequently being seasoned only with chopped parsley, but repeated Escoffier's admonition that it ought to contain a combination of fragrant herbs, "such as, parsley, chervil, tarragon, and also chives". For in former times this was the traditional practice (la pratique ancienne), when "to the aforementioned herbs, chopped mushrooms, and eventruffles, would be added".[2]
Julia Child also echoes Escoffier: "A mixture of fresh parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil is calledfines herbes",[3] whileAlan Davidson, author ofThe Oxford Companion to Food, identifies chopped fresh parsley as the minimum basis of thefines herbes mix, with the addition of "any (or all) of: chervil, tarragon, chives", noting that the number of different herbs to be used is not fixed.[4] Food scientistHarold McGee's definition limits the number to tarragon, chervil, chive, and omits parsley.[5] McGee also recommends that the herbs be finely chopped using a sharp knife rather than a food processor, "since food processors slice into herbs and introduce a lot of air and therefore aroma-altering oxygen".[6]
A living tradition, such as cooking, is always subject to variation and re-creation. For example, in his memoirs, the latePierre Franey, former chef atLe Pavillon and long-timeNew York Times columnist, vividly recalled his trepidation when as a teenaged apprentice chef, he was ordered to prepare a simple "omelette aux fines herbes—three eggs, chervil, parsley, tarragon, chives—the first omelette I was assigned to prepare for paying guests, after a considerable amount of practicing on others." In his anxiety he almost spoiled the dish.[7] Yet, in his accompanying recipe for Americans printed in the same book, Franey substitutesbasil for the chervil, doubtless because especially in the United States, chervil, unless home-grown, can be very hard to obtain when fresh and is nearly useless when dried.[citation needed]
In general, definitions of thefines herbes group in American cook books have tended to be somewhat elastic. James Beard'sFireside Cookbook (1949), for example, contains a recipe for what he calls a "Fines Herbes Bowl", a dip featuring chopped parsley, chives,dill, chopped green pepper and salt, mixed into a pint of sour cream.[8] In his subsequent discussion of "Salad Herbs", Beard lists: 1) Tarragon: "The most pleasant salad herb .... Use the fresh if you can"; 2) Chervil, which he calls "delicate and subtle";[9] 3) Fresh Dill, which Beard recommends especially for salads containing cucumber or cabbage; and 4) Sweet Basil: a "a natural complement to tomatoes". Beard identifies these four herbs (tarragon, chervil, dill, and basil) as, "the noblest of the salad herbs", noting parenthetically, however, that "some people like to use a little thyme or rosemary". Finally, the basis of the Frenchfines herbes lineup: parsley, although not one of Beard's aforementioned "noble" salad herbs, yet "adds much to many salad mixtures, although in a green salad it has perhaps less place".[10]
The "fines herbes" are sometimes contrasted with the more pungent or resinous "robust herbs" that appear in abouquet garni and which, unlikefines herbes, release their flavour in long cooking. However, there is some inconsistency and overlap in terminology.[citation needed]
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